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Ogwumike was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2008 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 17 points, grabbed 6 rebounds,[8] and earned MVP honors for the White team.[9] She averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game during the 2007-08 season at Cy-Fair High School.

Ogwumike chose Stanford over Baylor, Duke, Connecticut, Tennessee and Notre Dame.[10] She was a member of USA Under 18 Team that won gold in Argentina on July 23–27, 2008. Nneka tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds in the championship game of the Under-18 FIBA Americas. She led team USA to a 5-0 record while leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She was named MVP of this tournament in Argentina.

Ogwumike was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The event was held in July 2008, when the USA team defeated host Argentina to win the championship.[16] Ogwumike helped the team win all five games, starting all five games and leading all scorers with 12.6 points per game. She was also the leading rebounder with 8 per game. Ogwumike recorded 15 rebounds in the final game against Argentina, an U18 record.[17]

Ogwumike continued on to the USA Women's U19 team which represented the USA in the 2009 U19 World's Championship, held in Bangkok, Thailand in July and August 2009.[18] Although the USA team lost the opening game to Spain, they went on to win their next seven games to earn a rematch against Spain in the finals, and won the game 81–71 to earn the gold medal. Ogwumike started all nine games and was the team's leading scorer, with 13.6 points per game. She was the leading rebounder with almost ten per game, and was named to the all-tournament team.[19]

Ogwumike played on the team presenting the USA at the 2011 World University Games held in Shenzhen, China, along with her sister, Chiney Ogwumike . The team, coached by Bill Fennelly, won all six games to earn the gold medal. Ogwumike averaged 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, both second place on the team behind Elena Delle Donne.[20]

On July 12, 2012, Ogwumike set a career-high in rebounds with 20 to go along with 22 points in a 77-74 win over the eventual WNBA champion Indiana Fever. On September 13, 2012, she scored a season high 30 points on 10 of 15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds in an 86-77 win over the Chicago Sky. In the regular season finale on September 20, 2012, Ogwumike matched her teammate Candace Parker for team highs in both points and rebounds with each player earning 22 and 11, respectively, in a 92-76 win over the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. Ogwumike was 10 for 13 from the field.[21]

Ogwumike was named WNBA Rookie of the Month four out of five times in her rookie season.[22] On October 7, 2012, Ogwumike was awarded as the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year. It marked the fifth consecutive year that the award had been won by the first overall draft pick.[23]

During the 2014 season, Ogwumike averaged 15.8 ppg and was voted as a WNBA All-star for the second time in her career along with her sister Chiney Ogwumike, becoming the first pair of sisters to be selected into a WNBA All-Star game.[24]

Ogwumike during game 5 of the 2017 WNBA Finals

In 2016, Ogwumike re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired.[25] During the season, Ogwumike was named AP WNBA Player of the Year, while finishing third in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg), third in the league in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and first in field goal percentage (.665).[26] Her season performance would also help her earn the 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player Award. During the season, Ogwumike had set a WNBA record for most consecutive field goals made (23 consecutive field goals over three games) and set a new WNBA single-game record for most field-goal attempts without a miss in which she scored 32 points on 12 of 12 field goal shooting in a 97-73 win over the Dallas Wings.[27] On June 30, 2016, she scored a career-high 38 points along with 11 rebounds in a 84-75 victory against the Atlanta Dream.[28][29] In addition, she set the basketball record for highest true shooting percentage by reaching 73.7% during the season, becoming the most efficient shooter in the history of professional basketball.[30] With a supporting cast of Candace Parker and Kristi Toliver, the Sparks were a championship contender in the league with a 26-8 record. With the WNBA's new playoff format in effect, the Sparks were the number 2 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the Chicago Sky. The Sparks defeated the Sky 3-1 in the series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2003. In the WNBA Finals, it was the second time in league history were two teams from the same conference faced each other in the Finals due to the new playoff format. Against the championship-defending Minnesota Lynx, the Sparks won the championship in a hard-fought five-game series, winning their first championship since 2002. Ogwumike won her first career WNBA championship. In game five of the series, Ogwumike had 12 points along with 12 rebounds and scored a game-winning shot after grabbing an offensive rebound to put the Sparks up 77-76 with 3 seconds left in the game.[31] Ogwumike became the seventh player in WNBA history to win both the regular season MVP award and a championship in the same season.[32]

In 2017, Ogwumike signed a contract extension with the Sparks.[33] During the 2017 season, Ogwumike was voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her fourth career all-star appearance. On August 18, 2017, Ogwumike scored a season-high 32 points along with 10 rebounds in a 115-106 double overtime victory over the Chicago Sky.[34][35] By the end of the season, Ogwumike led the Sparks in scoring for the second season in a row, averaging 18.8 ppg and the Sparks finished as the number 2 seed for the second year in a row with the same record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would go on to advance to the Finals for the second season in a row, after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in a 3-game sweep, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships.

In the 2012-13 off-season, Ogwumike played in Poland for CCC Polkowice and won a championship with the team[36] Since 2014, Ogwumike has played three off-seasons in Russia for Dynamo Kursk.[37] The club won the 2017 Euroleague. In late 2017, Ogwumike returned to Dynamo Kursk for the 2017-18 WNBA off-season.